Ordinary Things
by DesertOrchid7485
Summary: When Matt gets sidelined by something so very ordinary, how will he react and will he let his friends help him? Matt whump within
1. Chapter 1

Title: Ordinary Things

Summary: When Matt gets sidelined by something so very ordinary, how will he react and will he let his friends help him? Matt whump within

Rating: PG-18 due to curse words

Disclaimer: I own nothing of Daredevil or its characters. But as I am in love with Netflix's version, I have jumped into the deep end of the fandom and am now enjoying the swim.

Author's Note: So, I love how much this show beats on Matt and their continuity with the bruises and wounds. But I was also curious about how Matt would deal with a simple injury, knowing that simple tho it may be, it will still make it difficult for him to become Daredevil. I also wanted some Foggy and Karen taking care of him and so this is what I wrote...

Hope you enjoy!

* * *

It was such a simple thing. An ordinary thing, even.

Matt Murdock had been slowed by many an injury, some almost fatal, but to be hindered by such a nuanced thing as a sprained ankle was simply ridiculous. Yet, he still found himself making his way, slowly, limpingly, into the office, unable to do more than that. Usually he was able to fight through whatever it was but this time his body simply refused to do it. And it was frustrating.

Taking a deep breath, Matt tried to calm his emotions so they didn't show to anyone else. As far as he knew both Foggy and Karen were having a good morning and he wasn't about to dampen that by his foul mood. Both of his friends were perceptive. But when it came to the friendship between the three of them, they all paid closer attention to one another's feelings and body language. Sometimes it still amazed him that, rather than separating them, Matt's secret had brought them closer together.

Five months. That's how long it had been since Foggy had broken down and had told Karen. At first Matt had been irate at his friend for the perceived betrayal but after some time alone (both Karen and Foggy had avoided him for a time) he had eventually come to the realization that it had been long since past time to let their friend and employee in completely. He had taken all of Karen's anger with him; had given her time to calm down before he had even bothered trying to explain himself and his reasons. It had taken another few weeks before she'd forgiven him and now things seemed the better for it.

At first things had been a bit awkward with Karen. Both of them had attempted to form something beyond friendship but the trouble had become that Matt had slowly grown to think of her as a younger sister rather than a potential girlfriend. Sooner or later Karen had realized the same only in reverse, of course, and they had been content to remain good friends.

A noise within the office brought Matt back to the present and his ears focused on the words which would have been audible to anyone within fifty feet but seemed to be louder than a rock concert to him. The door swung open and Matt had barely enough time to move out of the way before the person came out. The heartbeat was irregular and unfamiliar, leaving Matt with no clues as to who he (judging by the extreme whiff of cologne) was.

"Well, well, Matt Murdock," the male's voice (deep and with a note of familiarity in it) taunted. "So the Bat did get his own practice. Bit high-reaching for someone like you, isn't it?"

Memories rushed in like a dam that had been released and Matt's hands clenched in anger on the seeing-cane which he held. Yes, he knew that voice and he was ashamed to realize that it had taken him so long to recognize it.

"Cameron Drake," he said, hoping that he had kept his voice level so as to not give away the rage that boiled his blood. "What brings you to our lovely establishment?"

Two pairs of footsteps accompanied by two familiar yet fast heartbeats signaled to him that he wasn't alone with the man who had attempted to torture him through part of college. No doubt Karen was curious as to how the two men knew one another but Matt was sure that Foggy was allowing his more protective side to motivate him. Matt was grateful for their presence but it was unnecessary. Cameron had been a bully at best but he'd always been one to wait until the numbers had been in his favor rather than Matt's, therefore he wasn't likely to try anything whilst in the hallway.

At his question, Cameron snorted, disgust coloring the rather unattractive sound. "You mean this pathetic excuse for a law firm?" He puffed his chest out (judging by the deep inhale Matt heard him take) like a proud peacock. The rasp of cloth on skin suggested that Cameron had stuffed his hands into the pockets of his expensive suit and Matt didn't have to be able to see to know that the jerk had an arrogant smirk on his face. "Well since you two bozos decided to be the pathetic losers that everyone knew you to be and took on that hate crime case, I thought I'd come and check out the "opposing council"."

Oh, that's fantastic. He and Foggy were suing Cameron's client. No matter how much of a jackass Matt believed the man to be, he also knew him to be a good attorney. Suddenly their potentially easy case just became a little bit harder.

Cameron moved before Matt could reply, bumping as hard as he can into Matt's left shoulder. Matt stumbled back, failing to stifle a grimace as his ankle cried out against him putting all of his weight on it. Again, Matt hadn't needed to see to know that the taller man was smirking in pleasure. He heard Foggy and Karen's hearts beat faster but he didn't know why as there could be many emotions which would cause that in this particular circumstance.

"See you 'round, Bat."

His footsteps retreated down the hall and then out of the building, a small swagger in his steps. Matt swallowed heavily, his hands convulsively clenching the cane in his hand to stop him from strangling the man that had just left. After a deep inhale followed by a long, slow sigh, he walked into the office, closing the door behind him.

* * *

Karen stared, wide-eyed, as Matt gingerly made his way into the office. She knew that he could hear her heart as it raced but she also figured that he probably couldn't decide on a reason why. At the moment it was in a mixture of anger, adrenaline, and concern.

There had been tension in the air once the tall, attractive, man had come in. At first Karen hadn't understood it but the more he had talked, the more she had felt her temper rise. Cameron, as it turns out he's called, had been so incredibly condescending towards Foggy that she had been tempted to deck him. Thankfully he hadn't stayed long but then he'd opened the door and there stood Matt. He seemed annoyed, though she hadn't known about what, but then he'd heard Cameron's voice and his countenance had changed, going from annoyed to almost furious. His knuckles had turned white as he'd clenched the cane he used to help him judge distances and objects as he walked.

It hadn't taken a genius to figure out Cameron's reference for the name he had used to refer to Matt. After all, 'blind as a bat' is a common saying. The fact that it wasn't very imaginative was just annoying. Matt hadn't seemed to take offense but something about the name had clearly bothered him and that had made her desire to punch the asshole that much stronger.

Beside her she had felt Foggy stiffen as the two men had met. With a quick glance out of her peripheral she had noticed that his hands had clenched by his sides as well and she had reached out to grab a hold of the closest hand in case he should attempt violence of his own.

When Cameron had purposely bumped into Matt and she had seen him grimace, Karen had had to stop herself from going to her friend. Evidently he was hurt and her mothering instinct had made her want to help him. Now that the jerk was gone and Matt was inside, she had to fight harder, knowing that he wouldn't appreciate the strong show of concern.

"You're limping," Foggy observed with worry in his tone.

Matt smiled placatingly at them both, shrugging them off with practiced ease. "I'm fine," he said as he moved into his office. His right arm was out as far as it normally was when he felt for the edges of the doorjamb but his left barely extended far enough away from his side to reach the halfway mark to the doorway. No matter what he said, he was not fine.

"Y'know," Foggy said, turning so that his attention was on her rather than Matt, "he says that like we're supposed to believe him. We may be gullible but we're not blind."

A rich chuckled echoed through Matt's office as the man apparently appreciated the joke but he said nothing to argue in his defense. Not long after completing his thought, Foggy went in to join his friend and Karen followed. She paused a moment to grab the first aid kit in case it was need, which, honestly seemed more than likely.

Foggy had pulled up a chair on the same side as Matt by the time she'd entered and was apparently arguing with Matt about whether he was not only hurt but how badly. Needless to say the conversation wasn't going well. But Foggy was nothing if not persistent when he wanted to be. The two had stopped talking not long after she'd entered but it wasn't out of their desire to hide something from her, it was because they both had known that they weren't going to get anywhere.

"Take off your jacket," Foggy commanded as he stood up, abandoning the chair he had occupied.

Matt cocked his head to the side in curiosity. "Why?"

"So that I can take a look at your arm," Karen said, seamlessly inserting herself into the conversation.

Her heels made muted thudding sounds as she walked across the office and came to stand just behind Matt's left shoulder. She placed the first aid kit down on the desk so that she could help him, or force him if need be, out of his jacket if he needed it.

When Matt hadn't responded right away, Karen had been sure that he would resist. But. Eventually, he did as he had been told and slowly, obviously painfully, shrugged his overcoat off. In spite of the fact that she knew he could have handled it on his own, Karen helped him and took the coat when he was free of it. She tossed it over the desk where it landed on the chair in an uncoordinated heap and remained there.

He had just started to roll his sleeve up when Foggy suddenly reached out and grabbed Matt's left leg and pulled it onto his lap.

"Hey!" Matt objected as he held on to the arms of the chair when it slightly pivoted backwards from the motion that Foggy had created. "Foggy, what are you doing?"

"I'm checking to see how badly you've hurt your leg."

Karen watched as Foggy's hands gently explored his friend's leg, starting from the knee and working their way down. The familiarity with which it was done suggested that this wasn't the first time they had done this. She took a moment to wonder exactly how many times Matt had gotten hurt while rooming with Foggy and how many times Foggy had examined him. She also wondered how Matt would have gotten hurt given his senses. Had he actually fallen or had something more..sinister had happened.

Judging by the the hostility between Matt and the other lawyer, she guessed that it was the latter.

"Okay, one, it's my ankle so if you could please stop feeling me up, I'd be grateful," Matt answered. He lifted his leg as though he were going to lower it but Foggy's hand stopped him. "And two," he said when he realized that he wasn't going to be able to brush this aside, "I'm fine. Okay?" When Karen and Foggy shared a look, Matt sighed. "I can practically feel you guys looking at each other, you know?" When they remained silent, he sighed again, this time sounding more frustrated. He licked his lips and then added, "Look, I may not feel perfect, but I'm not an invalid."

The sharpness with which he said this made Karen flinch. Resentment had poured out of the words with such force that she knew it had come from within a part of him that he, more than likely, refused to acknowledge existed. God only knew how often he had been made to feel helpless by others and, on some level, she believed that she could understand the bitterness but she also knew that it would, in no way, come close to the level that it had filled up within her friend.

"We know that," she said, her tone gentling, almost coddling. She winced when she heard it and she was pretty sure that Matt had heard it too, if his sardonic smirk was anything to go by. "Look," she said with a much firmer sound to her voice. "I get that you don't like people fussing over you. And no doubt that it was a good trait to have when you didn't really have people around you that cared about you. But you've had Foggy for years and now you've also got me. We aren't doing this because we think you're an invalid. We're doing this because you're our friend and you're hurt and we're concerned. So, please, let us at least reassure ourselves, for ourselves, that you're alright."

Matt hissed in the silence and it drew her notice down to where Foggy was examining the now-bare ankle. Evidently he had continued to examine his friend's ankle whether Matt wished him to or now. From now on, Karen would have to remember to try ignoring Matt's demands and just do it anyways as it seems to work so well for Foggy.

"So, what happened?" Foggy asked as he proceeded to inspect the rather nasty-looking bruise that surrounded the outside of Matt's ankle.

"I fell on a patch of ice while walking here," was Matt's answer in such a resigned voice that Karen wondered if that happened often in the winter.

"Dude, I told you let me walk with you," Foggy lectured. "Winters are always worse for you - super senses or not."

"Yeah, I know. Next time, I'll let you escort me to the office, okay?" Matt returned, rolling up his left sleeve to mid-bicep or somewhere there abouts as he did so.

Karen chuckled a little at their banter, remembering when there had been a time when she had wondered if there was ever going to be laughter in the office again or if things were simply going to fall apart before they had even truly gotten started. She knelt down to get a look at Matt's arm and briefly wondering where he'd hurt it when it soon became obvious. The way he avoided resting his elbow on the arm of the chair alone should have told her that. But instead it was the slight swelling and bruise that had begun to form that made it all too clear.

She took a gentle hold on his arm, one hand on his bicep, the other on his forearm, and attempted to gently straighten the limb. He gave a groan deep in his throat and so she instantly stopped.

"Sorry," she quietly said. "That's going to make life a little harder for you, I think."

"Of that," he said, offering her a smile, "I have no doubt."

Returning a smile that he couldn't see (or could he? She still wasn't quite sure how that worked), Karen activated one of the several instant ice packs that were in the kit and placed it into his vacant right hand. He applied the cold to the sore limb without being told what to do and she smiled (inwardly this time), feeling as though she'd helped him to feel at least a little more independent.

"Yeah, somehow I don't think that'll be a problem, my friend, because it looks like you aren't going to be walking to too many places in there near future," Foggy said, referring to their earlier conversation.

The change in topic made Karen dizzy for a second and then she caught on. Having finished her part in the exam she walked around the desk to the other, vacant, side, making sure to go past Foggy so that she could get a better glimpse at Matt's injury. Not that she didn't trust Foggy but she wanted to see and judge for herself how serious it was. It appeared to be a decent sprain and while that wasn't too horrible, per se, it was to a guy like Matt who valued his independence way more than he seemed to his health. She knew that the pain would be nothing to him but the loss of function, to a degree, would be unacceptable.

"I'm sure it's not that bad," Matt argued, clearly not liking the idea of not being able to do much because of a bum ankle. Karen was tempted to say that the Daredevil can take a night or two (or three or seven) off but she held her tongue. She already knew that he believed that to be untrue and she wasn't about to get into an argument where nothing was going to be accomplished. With a small smirk, Matt added, "Besides, I got here, didn't I? And when did you become a doctor anyways?"

Foggy was silent for a moment, clearly not believing that he really needed to answer either question, then he leaned back. His hands released their hold on Matt's ankle as they folded over his chest in a challenging posture. "Okay," he said with a triumphant smile already gleaming in his eyes. "You know what? I'm hungry. How about you and I go pick up some sandwiches for lunch before we hit the files?"

"What?" Karen asked, unsure that she had heard right. Surely he wasn't serious. Foggy wouldn't be that stupid as to challenge Matt to something that was, when it truly came down to things, a game of wills? Would he?

The smirk on Matt's face clearly said that he had thought of the same thing and was confident in his ability to accept and defeat the challenge. "Sure," he answered with an equally jovial tone of voice as Foggy had just used. "Just let me put my shoe and sock back on and my coats and I'll meet you at the door."

"Oh please," Foggy said with way too much civility to be actually meant. "Let me."

Before Matt could object, Foggy had slipped his friend's sock back on and then did the same with the shoe. While the sock went on smoothly and without a fight, the shoe took some convincing and though Matt hadn't made a sound, there had been a permanent look of pain on his face that Karen hadn't a doubt as to how uncomfortable it had been for him.

For a second Karen just stood there, trying to make sense of the one-eighty that Foggy had just done. He'd gone from being concerned to challenging his friend to cause himself more pain. Movement to her left caught her eye and she looked over and watched as Matt stood up. His weight settled onto his legs but she could see that he was doing his best to hold himself up on his uninjured leg more so than the injured one.

Karen scoffed and rolled her eyes. She laid out a bandage and then another instant ice pack before she gathered up the kit and said, "You guys are idiots." Then she walked out to leave the two to their lunacy, closing the door to the office behind her.

* * *

From the moment Matt had stood up, Foggy had been keeping an extremely close eye on him. He knew that Karen thought him an idiot but he also knew that Matt wouldn't be able to get very far. There hadn't been too many times that his blind friend had been injured when they were rooming together, but from the few times there had been, Foggy knew that of all the injuries that Matt could and couldn't handle or hide, leg injuries were the hardest for him. It wasn't that Matt couldn't ignore them or the pain they caused (like he could the others), it was more that they tripped him up more because of his inability to see like a regular person.

So when, on the second or third step, Matt's ankle rolled under him and he had begun to fall, Foggy had been there to catch him before he could hit the ground. He hadn't been able to stop his friend from hitting the desk, albeit thankfully not that hard, but at least he hadn't fallen directly on the floor.

"Smart ass," Matt grumbled into Foggy's shoulder as they both maneuvered him back into his office chair.

"Well, at least you made it three steps this time," Foggy consoled without an ounce of pity. "Last time I think you made it, what, one and a half before you fell flat on your face?"

"Yeah, thanks for that, by the way. And I'll have you know that that was at least five steps, not three."

"No, I'm pretty sure that was three - at most. At most."

"What? Clearly you're the one that's blind. That was more than three steps."

The pair broke off into quiet laughter at that. It always amazed Foggy how Matt could make light of his situation like he did. He never seemed to take offense when people made blind jokes (with the exception of Cameron, of course) and he was always able to tease others about their lack of sight when he was in the mood. Maybe part of the reason was that Matt wasn't entirely as blind as Foggy had once believed him to be?

"I'm not really blind, you know," Matt said as though he could read Foggy's mind. His voice was almost gentle. Pitying.

"How do you do that?" Foggy asked, unable to stop himself from doing so. Even knowing what he did, he was still amazed at the things his best friend could do.

Matt smirked but didn't answer. The look quickly turned to one of pain as Foggy began to take his shoe back off. He grabbed the instant ice pack which Karen had left behind and, after activating it, placed it against the swollen joint.

"What do you mean?" The sound of Karen's voice startled both of them since they had believed that she had been content to leave them to their idiocy. She gave a slight wince when she realized that they had both jumped. "Sorry," she said. "Didn't mean to startle you."

"We weren't startled. Were you startled, Matt? Because, I-I wasn't startled."

Now all three of them were laughing but this time it was at Foggy's expense. Oddly enough, he was okay with that. They all knew that he had been startled and the fact that he was, ineffectually, trying to play it off was comical at best.

"Anyway," Karen said as she brushed her hair off her face and behind her ear. God, Foggy could watch her do that all day.

There were some who thought that he was secretly in love with Matt. And while that was true to an extent, it wasn't what they had thought. He loved Matt. But it was like one would love a brother to whom they were very close. Matt was more than a friend. More than a relative. Foggy would do anything for Matt and he was fairly certain that Matt would do anything for him. But the love that one could feel for a partner? Well, that was all Karen's.

"Right," Matt said as he was reminded that they had wanted an explanation. He winced as Foggy began to work on wrapping his ankle but Foggy ignored it and contented himself with listening while he worked.

"You both know that when I attempt to see with my eyes, that all I see is a world on fire. It burns in various hues of red and yellow that are able to outline things that are around me. They are always outlined in flames, of course, but I can technically see them. Just not in detail."

They both nodded, which they now wondered if he could actually see, but said no more.

Matt licked his lips, looking like he was contemplating how to further explain. Both Foggy and Karen remained silent. Foggy wasn't sure about Karen but he was curious about what his friend was going to say, how he could possibly explain things further to them so that they could come close to understanding, and so he wanted to give Matt a chance to fully gather his thoughts before he, Foggy, said another word.

"For months after my father died, all I could do was pity myself. The poor little orphan who couldn't technically see. Then I met Stick and he taught me that there was so much more to me than that. Now granted things didn't turn out with him the way I had hoped they would but still, he got me to realize a few things. When we use our eyes to see, we are actually more blind than those who can't because we then come to depend on them so much that we stop paying attention to our other senses. Once that one main sense is taken away from us, the others open up and you are suddenly more aware of the world than when you could see it. You can hear the different shifts in tone when a person speaks and you learn to identify what those mean. You can smell things that you wouldn't have noticed before because you were too busy to even try."

Foggy finished wrapping Matt's ankle and then laid the leg on the chair that he was now vacating. Listening to his friend talk with such wonder in his voice made Foggy almost believe that he was the true blind one and not Matt. But he'd also picked up on the sorrow in Matt's voice as he'd spoken about his father and the anger (and something close to betrayal) when he had mentioned Stick, so maybe he wasn't as dependent on his vision as Matt had believed him to be. Or maybe he was just naturally more used to paying closer attention to Matt than he was anyone else, which, now that he thought about it, seemed more likely.

"Now, I'll grant you that I can take both of those senses and go quite a bit further," Matt continued as Foggy went to the other side of the desk and joined Karen in leaning against the wall. "And together, all of those things - the smell, the sound, even touch and taste, help paint a picture of the world for me that is more vivid and beautiful as well as heartbreaking and true than any who can see with their eyes will ever experience."

"You seem to have put a lot of thought into this," Karen said once she was sure that he was finished.

Matt smirked, and this time when he did so there was no hint of humor in it, just bitterness. "I've had a lot of time to," he answered, his voice matching the expression on his face.

Silence was all that greeted this as neither Foggy not Karen knew what to say to it. They both knew that they had pushed their luck with how much care and comfort Matt was going to take today and so anything they said might just put their friend on the defensive. The same familiar feeling of pity crept into Foggy's heart and try as he might, he couldn't get rid of it. He'd always felt a bit sorry for Matt but for the most part it had simply been because he'd been blind. But now, more and more it was because of how lonely the poor guy was. Oh he'd rather go after the Russian mob than admit it (and what do you know- he has!) but he couldn't hide it from Foggy (or Karen, Foggy suspected). And that more than anything made Foggy want to go over and give him a gigantic bear hug. Foggy knew and suspected that Matt knew they were his family but when you are often locked inside your own mind with little to distract you, that knowledge doesn't always register.

Matt cleared his throat which brought Foggy back to the room and out of his own head. The other lawyer looked distinctly uncomfortable but whether it was because of just how much he'd opened up or the pain he was no doubt feeling from his fall outside, Foggy couldn't tell. It was probably a mixture of both, now that he thought about it. Just as Foggy was going to say something, Matt beat him to it with, "So, Foggy, you mentioned something about sandwiches? Or doesn't that apply now that you think you've proven your point?"

"'Think' I've proven my point? Oh no, my friend, I know I've proven my point. Or have you already forgotten our earlier conversation?"

"I stand by my earlier statement, Counselor, it was definitely more than three steps."

"Wait, are you two seriously arguing over how many steps Matt could take before he collapsed?" Karen asked. There was a bit of something in her voice but Foggy couldn't identify it.

"Yeah," he answered anyways. "The defense seems to think it was five while the prosecution knows it to be no more than three."

"Okay, well, let me save you both the trouble of continuing by siding with Foggy."

"Oh Karen," Matt said sadly and looking hurt that she hadn't sided with him. He shook his head and gave a forlorn, over dramatic, sigh.

Foggy cried, "Yes!" and threw his arm around Karen's shoulder to make it look like they were best buddies. He hoped that Matt ignored the way his heart sped up at the contact. Matt, just to make a point, smirked in his direction and Foggy damn near sighed at the sight of it. "See, Matt," he said, choosing to ignore the tiny interaction, "I told you she likes me better."

Karen laughed thickly and Foggy felt his heart rate increase that much more at the sound. God, he loved her laugh. And her voice. And her eyes. And her hair. Hell, Foggy just loved her.

"I wouldn't go that far," she said, brushing his arm off her shoulders and then pushing her hair behind her ears. "But as I trust you with Matt's health more than I do Matt, we'll go with that."

"You know, I think we both just got insulted, Matt," Foggy said, addressing his friend.

"I believe you're right," Matt answered, though his smile belied any offense he might have been trying to portray. "But as I'm hungry and you two clearly won't let me get lunch, I'm willing to forgive any insult providing she makes up for it by buying us lunch. Sounds fair, wouldn't you say, Foggy?"

"I think that sounds more than fair," Foggy confirmed, looking over at Karen expectantly.

Karen scoffed but gave in. "Fine," she said. "But only because if I don't then the two of you will never get some work done."

"Hmm, she doesn't sound all that apologetic, Matty, maybe you need to work on looking more pathetic."

"I do not need to look more pathetic," Matt argued back. "What I, no we, do need to do is get back to Mrs. Helm's case."

"Great idea!" Foggy replied too enthusiastically on purpose. "You start doing that while I help Karen with the lunch."

"Uh, no," Karen said as she threw on her coat and scarf. "You stay here and help Matt. God only knows what he'll do if we leave him by himself."

Matt's brows furrowed, making him look affronted. "Between the two of you, you'd think that I haven't been taking care of myself for years."

"Uh, have you forgotten the night that I found you half dead in your apartment?" Foggy reminded his friend, still a little upset about that night for more than one reason. "I'm pretty sure you wouldn't have survived if I hadn't been there."

"The only thing I'm sure of is that you're over exaggerating." Matt waved his hand in a dismissive gesture. "I'm sure I would have been fine given time."

"No, you probably would have bled out given time."

"And on that note," Karen intoned, shivering a little despite the warmth of the room. "I'll be back soon. Try to actually get some work done, please? Cause, I don't know about you but I don't really want that Cameron guy to win."

At the mention of Cameron's name, Foggy's heart beat faster again. This time it wasn't out of any pleasant sensation. Just anger. Fury would have actually been a more accurate description but as it was more like impotent fury, Foggy downgraded it to anger. He would never forget or forgive what that asshole had done to Matt in college and judging by the way Matt's hands had clenched into fists, he wouldn't either. Even so, his friend made the smallest of waves at him, silently telling him to calm down. It worked but only marginally.

Karen gave them both a look, not missing the exchange between them in the least. "And maybe during lunch you guys can tell me why you guys hate him so much."

Matt simply smiled, thought there was no warmth in it, and said, "Be careful out there. The sidewalks are icy."

TBC


	2. Chapter 2

By the time Karen had gotten back to the office, the question of why we two friends hated the opposing lawyer so much had begun to eat at her. She guessed that it had something to do with something he had done to Matt from Foggy's expressions and anger alone, but what she wanted to know was what. What had that man done to Matt thy could have been so terrible as to elicit such hate from Foggy?

"Ooh, she's back!" cried a very excited Foggy and she heard the sound of a chair scraping, quickly followed by the man himself, a smile on his bright face, standing in the doorway of Matt's office. "Hey there beautiful," he said as he came towards her. She had thought that he had been referring to her but she soon found that she had been wrong when he grabbed the food out of her hands and took it into the office.

"Ouch," she said, smiling. Now that her hands were mostly empty, she set the bag of drinks down on top of her desk and began to disrobe. The multitude of layers were necessary for a New York winter but once you're inside they become a bit much and now she was beginning to sweat.

"What? Oh, no, I mean, I'm hungry and so the food was..Ah, I dug myself in again." Foggy winced as he'd finished and he looked at her pleadingly as though he was hoping she'd help him get out of the hole he'd found himself in.

"Yep, you did," she responded, not even bothering to offer him a way out. In her opinion he didn't actually need one since she'd known what he'd meant to begin with but she enjoyed pulling his chains and so she'd kept up the teasing.

"And once again, you're not going to help me out," he surmised, sounding resigned.

"Nope." She paused so that she could change the subject. "How's Matt?"

"'Matt' is right here and he's fine!" Matt yelled from his office.

"Sorry!" Karen called back. "I forgot that you actually have really good hearing."

A faint chuckle from Matt's office told her that he'd found that funny for some reason. Once she'd hung her coat up she grabbed the bag of sodas and brought them into Matt's office. She was pleased to see that he still had his foot elevated but she doubted that would remain true. It was awkward, at best, to eat in that position and so she assumed he'd move so that he could fully face her and Foggy.

"Which probably means that you don't have to yell," Matt said with a faint wince on his face.

"Right," Karen said, offering a wince of her own that he couldn't define. "Sorry." She sat down, handing out the sodas to each person, adding a water for Matt since she knew that he wasn't that much of a soda guy. For the most part he seemed to be a healthnut which wasn't all that surprising given his..extracurriculars and how much physical health he had to maintain in order to do them. As she unwrapped her tuna on rye she asked, "Have you guys found anything?"

The sound of crinkling paper filled the room as the other two men did the same. The smell of Foggy's meatball sandwich filled the air, briefly making Karen's stomach growl. She almost wished that she'd gotten the same sandwich but the sheer amount of effort and gym-time she'd need in order to work it off wasn't worth it and she knew it. Of course, she had to remind herself of that every now and then but even so.

"Not yet," Foggy answered around a mouthful of his sandwich. He chewed and then swallowed before continuing, "So far we can't find an angle at which to come at these guys. I mean, Cameron's a fighting-dirty kind of bastard but he's also a smart one and his client is just as good. Or bad, depending on your point of view."

Karen wanted to push but she could tell by the terse silence coming from Matt that there wasn't a point. Both he and Foggy had looked through everything they could and had come up with nothing. So, she segued into another topic. "And speaking of Cameron. Why do you guys hate him so much?"

The two friends looked at one another, somehow communicating and sharing a look in one in spite of the fact that one of them was legally blind. It was obvious that they were deciding, between the two of them, whether or not to tell her and, if so, what to tell her and it only helped to make her more curious.

"Back when we were in college, Cameron was older than we were, but in the same clas," Matt began. His voice sounded calm but he licked his lips entirely too much and Karen believed that she could see his chest rising too fast for him to be anything but trying to control his emotions. "And he was a _jealous_ sonofabitch.."

* * *

 _The night was warm and the crickets and cicadas were going about their nightly business. Summer had come to New York early this year and Matt and Foggy had gone to Josie's to cool down and wind down after a long week of studying. They were both inebriated, of course, but that was why the walk home was a good thing. It would help sober them up enough to get back to the right dorm room in time to get a few hours of sleep before their law class in the morning._

 _"I'm tellin' you, Murdock, she likes me."_

 _Matt chuckled, his voice almost giggling rather than the deep of his normal laugh. It was the alcohol. That was his excuse. Because Matt Murdock absolutely did not giggle. Not unless he was drunk. He didn't answer Foggy, however, since they had been arguing over the same point ever since they'd left the bar - no, ever since before they'd left the bar - and no matter what Matt said, Foggy refused to believe that the owner of the bar didn't like him. It wasn't a romantic interest, of course, but Foggy had believed that they had made a friendly connection and Matt, who had paid close attention whenever the bartender was around, had been adamant that they had not._

 _"Ooh! Maybe next time we go, she'll let us drink for free!" Foggy said, obviously choosing to ignore his friend's silence._

 _"Foggy, she will absolutely not let us drink for free. No matter what we do." Even so, Matt chuckled again as he answered. He liked that Foggy was able to make him laugh. There hadn't been many people in his life that had been able to do so - or had even bothered trying, come to think of it. Foggy was the first, and only, real friend that Matt had had in his twenty-something years. It was a bit pathetic but Matt wasn't going to complain. He was luckier than some people he knew._

 _"Well, well," a new voice intoned and Matt tensed at the sound of it, recognizing it as a foe rather than friend. Cameron Drake and, judging by the extra heartbeats, a few of his "friends" stepped into their path, blocking their way home, to safety. "Look who it is," Cameron continued, "the freak and his girlfriend."_

 _There was a pause in which Matt assumed that Foggy looked down at himself and then his friend said, "Damn and just when I'd tried not looking like a freak tonight."_

 _Matt chuckled, appreciating the fact that his friend was trying to take the insult for him. The scuffling of a boot told him that someone was moving and he knew that he'd been right when he'd heard Foggy squeak in surprise and pain. Matt tensed, wishing nothing more than to beat the crap out of these guys for hurting his friend. Unfortunately, chances were that he would either get his own ass kicked or he would draw unwanted attention towards himself with what he was able to do - neither of which did he want or need._

 _"Was that really necessary?" Foggy complained. Skin against cloth suggested that he was rubbing his hand against something, but what, Matt couldn't figure out. Probably his arm as that was the most accessible point on a person's body, but again, he wasn't sure._

 _"It's customary for the female to remain silent while the men talk," Cameron scolded, sounding annoyed. Matt heard his knuckles pop as the older student formed fists with his hands and he tensed at the sound. Cameron was clearly gearing up for a fight and Matt was going to be damned if he let himself or Foggy get the shit beat out of them. Himself, he could handle but Foggy didn't deserve any of what was coming. Not for simply being Matt's friend._

 _"Well at least you're admitting that I'm a man," Matt retorted. "Even if I am a freak."_

 _Swishing through the air was the only hint that he got before Cameron's fist crashed against his face. Had he been paying more attention, Matt could probably have ducked the blow but he'd been too busy trying to anticipate what the other three were going to do and not Cameron himself. Matt crashed down to the ground, catching himself with his hands to stop his face from meeting the concrete. Behind him he heard Foggy make to move but two of the heartbeats began to race and then two pairs of footsteps moved in to stand right beside him. Matt judged that it was to restrain Foggy, to stop him from intervening and for that, Matt was grateful._

 _"I said men, not freaks or their girls," Cameron clarified. Basically, neither Matt nor Foggy were supposed to say anything; merely accept the beating they were about to get. "And speaking of freaks - how is it that you got so far ahead in the ranks? Did you bribe a teacher or two? Or did you simply look at them with that blank stare of yours and hope that they'd feel guilty for you? Because we all know that you aren't smart enough to have gotten to Summa on your own."_

 _"And what makes you so sure of that?" Matt answered, for once thankful that he didn't rely on sight to know what was happening. Much as he'd like to pretend to be strong, Matt knew that Cameron was built like a footballer and the punch he'd thrown had hurt like the devil. If he'd been able to see, Matt knew that he wouldn't be seeing straight at the moment. He tried to smile, if for nothing more than to piss Cameron off more but he soon stopped with a wince as his left cheek sent a stab of pain through his face._

 _The slight huff he heard from the other man told him that he was smirking. No doubt enjoying the sight of Matt's pain, no matter how slight it was. Bastard._

 _"No kid of Jack Murdock's could ever be that smart."_

 _It had only been ten words but it had been enough of a sore spot to set Matt's blood boiling. Although his dad had been dead for years, it still hurt and Cameron had just poured salt into the wound and rubbed it in as deeply as he could. Matt's hands clenched into fists around the cane he held, his knuckles no doubt turning white as the blood was squeezed out of them. He hoped that that would stop him from beating the ever-lovin' shit out of the man but if he and Foggy didn't escape soon, it would be a false hope._

 _"Oh, what, was that offensive?" Cameron said, pretending to be surprised that it was. "Sorry, I just thought you should know what half the student body is saying. I mean, it's not like it's a surprise that they all know how much of a loser your father had been. After all, it's not like he'd tried to hide it."_

 _"That's really low, man," Foggy drunkenly said. In spite of his light tone, his heart began to speed up and Matt assumed it was because the blond was getting angry. There was only so much Foggy could take, after all, and Cameron was pushing the boundaries with ease._

 _"Don't worry," Cameron said and the way his voice seemed to get a little quieter suggested that he was now looking over Matt's shoulder to address Foggy. "I'm sure you can dry his tears when you get him in bed tonight."_

 _With every word that Cameron spoke, he dug himself in deeper and deeper and Matt felt his anger grow more and more. It hadn't been so much the comment that had made him snap. No, it was far simpler than that. Cameron's voice, while deep and soothing when it wanted to be, was nothing more than annoying to those who disliked him. And at this moment, Matt damn near hated the guy._

 _And so with the ease of someone who had been trained early on to do more than box or be a cripple, Matt swung. His fist connected with the taller man's jaw, pain flashing through his knuckles as it did so. But that was the only hit that he was able to get in. Between Cameron and his friend, they kept Matt busy trying to defend, deflect and attack and the fight only ended when Matt had been pushed down a flight of nearby stairs, kept on the ground via a vicious kick to the face, and had several kicks to his side - all of which meant that he wouldn't be able to do more than drag himself and Foggy back to their room._

 _A hand grabbed a fistful of his hair and jerked his head back. Normally it was a move that was meant to force the person to look you in the eye but as Matt couldn't see, that was not the point of it this time. No, this time it was simply to make it easier for Cameron to whisper in his ear._

 _"If you say a word of this to anyone - a teacher, a nurse, a cop - you won't be the only one to feel my strength. You're friend Foggy will join you." There was a pause in which Cameron probably took in Matt's facial expression and then he added, "Yeah, we spared your little girlfriend this time. My boys and I have a rule, you know, about hitting women. But next time, he won't be so lucky." The fist tightened painfully and then he said. "And besides, who would believe you. Both of you are drunk and for all they know, you could have simply fallen down the stairs."_

 _With that, he released Matt and walked off with a sickening strut in his stride._

* * *

Foggy sat listening to Matt tell the tale of their first violent encounter with Cameron. His own memories coincided almost exactly with his friend's. The obvious exception was the ending which he had been wholly unaware of. And he actually felt sick now that he knew. He had practically begged Matt to report Cameron. Heck, he'd even called him a coward for not doing so (not one of his better moments, admittedly, but hey, he was mad) and still Matt had refused. And now he understood why and he was ashamed.

"Foggy," Matt began but Foggy held up his hand to stall him, not wanting to hear whatever placating response his blind friend would give. He felt angry and he felt offended. But mostly, he just wanted to cry and he wasn't about to do that with Karen (who, by the way, was crying while looking like she was planning on murdering Cameron) in the room.

"All those times," he said, embarrassed by how weak his voice sounded. He took a couple breaths to force the tears out of his throat and eyes and then tried again. "All those times that you had come back bruised and hurt - I had known that it was Cameron and I hadn't been able to comprehend why you didn't report him. All those things I said to you, and you just let me, knowing everything that you did? Why didn't you tell me?!"

He hadn't meant to practically yell the last question but the more he'd spoken, the angrier he had become and it had come out without him realizing it. Matt winced, showing how closely he had been listening to everything that Foggy hadn't been saying but Foggy refused to feel guilty.

"Another lie," he whispered.

"Foggy, I'm sorry," Matt said again and this time the tears in his voice managed to calm Foggy down whereas the last time, when Matt had confessed to his nighttime activities, it hadn't.

Foggy knew that he had every right to feel angry, to be angry. But at the same time he also felt like an ass for it. Matt had endured some thing that Foggy would akin to hell for that spring and it had been all so he, Foggy, wouldn't have to. All of the sudden, the sting of betrayal that he had begun to feel because of another lie didn't seem to hurt as much. Instead, guilt had replaced it.

Before Foggy had a chance to assure his friend that all was well, there was a knock on their door. They all seemed to release a collective sigh and then Karen got up to answer it. Foggy watched as Matt hastily removed any trace of tears and then slipped his glasses on so that he could meet whomever looking like nothing was wrong. As Foggy did the same, he moved to stand behind Matt. He laced his hand on Matt's shoulder so that they could provide a united front and then gave it a squeeze. It was the only reassurance he had to give and he gave it willingly.

Their client walked into the office, standing just in the doorway. At first glance you wouldn't have guessed that she had been the victim of a hate crime. Her pale skin didn't peg her within the normal races. But then you looked again and you saw the bruise under her eye and the way she held herself rather stiffly.

Catherine Helm and her husband Robert had been on their way home to their two kids when they had been boxed in my two cars. Robert, who was half black, had been pulled out of the car and beaten. As far as beating go, it hadn't been all that bad but the fact remained that it was because of his skin. When Catherine had attempted to come to his aid, the men (who hadn't bothered to hide their faces, by the way) had started in in her. Unfortunately for the men, the commotion had drawn the attention of others and they had called for help. At the sound of the sirens, the men had fled, leaving Robert in the street with Catherine bloodily fussing over him.

Brett had naturally called Foggy, wanting him and Matt to get justice for what had been done. But while they'd been to court a couple of times, hoping to pin the main guy, they hadn't had much success in the way of justice.

Now their client stood looking nervous and uncomfortable and Foggy had to wonder why.

"Mrs. Helm, it's so nice to see you," Foggy greeted so that Matt would know for sure who had just walked in.

Catherine Helm smiled but didn't look any more at ease than when she had first entered. "Do you and Mr. Murdock have a moment?"

"Of course," Matt said as he made to get up. Foggy's firm hand stopped him from accomplishing it, however and it made Matt attempt to glare at him. "Karen, will you please escort Mrs. Helm to the conference room and Foggy and I will be there in a minute?"

"Actually," Foggy said, stopping the redhead before she moved. "Why don't we just do it here?" Foggy understood that his friend wanted to seem professional but Foggy refused to do it at the expense of his friend's pain.

Catherine looked confused as to whom she should agree with. Her brown eyes darted from Matt to Foggy and back again before she said, "The conference room is fine."

Foggy wanted to knock his friend upside the head at the triumphant smirk that he gave him. He refrained but barely and he only waited until their client left and then he did it anyways.

"We'll see if you're still smirking by the time you make your way into the conference room," Foggy said in passing as he made his way around the desk. "Do you want help with your shoe?"

Matt almost looked offended but evidently he knew enough of the truth behind the offer to not argue against it. Even so he declined the offer with a shake of his head and a, "No, thanks. I've got it."

Foggy scoffed his disbelief but he didn't push. Instead he left and went to grab his notepad and pen as well as a water for Mrs. Helm. Let Matt be stubborn. There was only so much that Foggy could do in a day.

* * *

Catherine nervously walked into the small, cramped room which her lawyers used as a conference room. She wasn't sure why one of them had wanted to move into here and the other preferred to stay in the office but she was sure that she would soon find out. The almost possessive way that Mr. Nelson held onto Mr. Murdock's shoulder suggested concern but as she hadn't been able to immediately discern why she couldn't be sure.

Honestly she still couldn't believe that she had lawyers. While she hadn't wanted to let the assault go, she hadn't been too confident in her ability to do anything through the law, either. So when Nelson and Murdock had showed up in Rob's hospital room, she had been both shocked and suspicious. Still, as they had seemed sincere and truly angry about what had happened, she had allowed them to pursue things just to see where they could go.

And now here she was, about to tell them something they didn't want to hear.

The door opened and in walked Mr. Nelson carrying a bottle of water as well as a notepad. He looked annoyed by something but she wasn't about to ask what. He placed the water in front of her, offering her a smile as he sat down and waited for his partner to join. It was long until they heard uneven footsteps in the hall. It took another thirty seconds or so but in, finally, walked Mr. Murdock, although the term walking would have only been loosely applied as he was heavily limping and leaning more on his cane than was usual. So that was why Mr. Nelson had wished to keep his friend sitting down and in the office - Mr. Murdock was injured.

"I'm sorry," she said, feeling guilty. "If I had known that you were hurt, I wouldn't have agreed to meeting in here."

"Please," Mr. Murdock pacified with a wave of his hand. He grimaced as he placed his hands on the table and slowly lowered into the chair but he soon gave her another smile. "I prefer meeting in here. It's more comfortable than my office."

Catherine wasn't sure that she agreed with that but she held her tongue. Instead she smiled, which she now realized that he couldn't see.

"She just smiled," Mr. Nelson filled in. "But I think there's something that she needs to tell us."

And there was. "Right," she said, not wanting to draw this all out more but not really wanting to tell them either. For some reason she felt like she was betraying them on some level and she hated it. "While I was at the hospital today, someone came in - a nurse - and talked to me."

At her mention of a nurse, Mr. Murdock seemed to pay special attention, which she thought curious, but he didn't ask any questions. And so she continued, "She wasn't our usual nurse, uh Claire, I believe her name was, but still, she was a nurse and so I allowed her to enter." Mr. Nelson looked uncomfortable at this but Mr. Murdock remained impassive, looking almost as though he already knew what was coming. "It wasn't until shed started to calmly offer me a settlement that I realized that she wasn't actually a nurse but a lawyer and that she had been sent there by the lawyer who represent the jerk who had beat up my husband."

"What did she look like?" Mr. Nelson asked, making little scribblings on his paper.

"She was blonde. Pretty. Nice body but not too thin; like she worked out, albeit not too hard. Her shoes were made to look like normal nurse's shoes but they also looked way too expensive to have been gotten on a nurse's salary."

Her lawyers shared a look, although how Mr. Murdock had caught the expression in his friend she wasn't sure, and Catherine guessed that they knew the woman she had met. Mr. Nelson's hands curled into fists before he removed them from the table and asked that she continue.

"She - she offered me an incentive to drop the case and-"

"-and you took it," Mr. Murdock finished. So he had known what she was going to say! But how?

"Yeah," she finished lamely. Catherine deflated after she had finished. In a way she felt relieved because it was out and she was done but in other ways she was still nervous; scared about how they were going to react. "With the settlement coming, I can, of course, pay you both for your time and effort."

They both managed to look insulted by that but she was adamant on this point and she guessed that they knew this from the fact that, offended though they were, they weren't arguing against it.

"I am so grateful for all that you two have done," she continued. She leaned forward, doing her best to stifle a wince when the movement brought renewed pain to her side where those thugs had hit her, and placed her hands on the table. Had she been more comfortable with touch, she would have reached out and taken their hands. But she had never been that comfortable with human connections and so she settled for clasping hers together in a tight ball. "But I think that we all know that this case isn't going to go anywhere. The only reason men who commit crimes don't wear masks is because they aren't afraid of getting caught and if that's the case, then we don't have one."

"Maybe we could," Mr. Nelson began but she forestalled him by placing a hand on his arm and giving it a small squeeze.

"I appreciate the effort but it's done already. I signed the papers and the money is being deposited into my bank account as we speak."

"You went there first," Mr. Murdock accurately surmised. This time some of what he was feeling seeped into his voice and Catherine felt a pang go through her heart. Betrayal and surprise were what she heard, were all she heard and she felt horrible. But she had her family to care for and for her that meant leaving New York and going someplace far safer for her husband and her children. It seemed as though Mr. Murdock realized that also and he offered her a smile. His hand fumbled on the table as he searched for hers and she gave it willingly. He gave it a small squeeze to show that he understood but what he said was, "When do you all leave?"

"Leave? What, you're leaving?" Mr. Nelson asked, surprised. He then turned to his partner, "And how did you know that?"

"It's a logical conclusion," Mr. Murdock dismissed.

"We're in the process of packing things up right now but I don't want to take the trip until it will be more comfortable for Rob."

"Well," Mr. Murdock said with another smile, "We're sorry to see you go but we wish you the best."

"Thank you." Catherine stoop up before she lost her nerve and caved. She gave both of them a smile. "I wish you both the best as well. You're good men and you deserve more than you've gotten." She paused, uncomfortable with what she'd just said, with how much emotion she'd just expressed. Gathering her courage, she smiled again. "Let me know how much you believe is fair payment and I'll get it to you."

She gently closed the door behind her, offered a smile to their assistant and then left their office for good, glad that at least there was no longer a lawsuit to worry about.

 **TBC**


	3. Chapter 3

"What just happened?" Karen asked as she came into the conference room. "I just saw Mrs. Helm leave and she looked like she felt guilty doing it."

Matt had cocked his head to the right when she'd entered and he continued to follow her with his ears as much as his head as she came to sit in the chair that their client (no, ex-client) had just vacated not five minutes earlier. He leaned back in his chair, giving a wince when his sore elbow brushed against the hard frame, and stretched out his legs under the table. His ankle had been screaming at him for making the walk over to the conference room and he'd been ignoring the pain as was his habit. The real problem (for him at any rate) would come when he tried to go back to his office. He had no doubt that the ankle wouldn't tolerate much of his weight, if any, and that was a problem.

Loathe though he was to admit it, Matt needed the Daredevil as much as Hell's Kitchen did. There was a certain catharsis when he was battling the criminal element. He knew that he was doing good and it made him feel like he'd made a difference. The fact that it also helped him to release some of his pent-up anger was also a bonus but that was a part that he wasn't necessarily going to cop to.

Becoming the Daredevil and helping his city with an injured ankle, however, was going to be a challenge at best and chances were that any criminals that he would come up against would be able to kick the ever-loving shit out of him because he wouldn't be able to balance upright for very long. Granted the support his boots could give might help but that wasn't a chance that Matt was willing to take.

"Evidently Cameron is a seedier bastard than we thought he was," Foggy said, his voice bringing Matt back to the present as well as answering Karen's question. Even without his super-hearing Matt could hear the anger in his friend's voice and he now focused on the man sitting beside him. He wondered if Foggy was mad because of the underhand tactics the opposing counsel used and the residual bit of anger that had been brought on by Matt's confession was only helping to fuel his dislike of Cameron or if it was the fact that it might have been Marcie that had, essentially, betrayed them.

Now that he thought about it, it probably hadn't been the best idea to reveal all of what had happened during that first encounter. He knew that he should have left the last conversation out, knowing that Foggy would believe himself guilty for all the bruises and injuries which Cameron had doled out when he really wasn't.

The way Foggy's heart had sped up had told Matt all of this but it also reminded him of something else - the night that Matt had confessed to everything. The heart rate was in the same rhythm as it had been that night, suggesting that Foggy was not only feeling badly but was also angry. Then Foggy had spoken two words and those two words had nearly broken Matt's heart because they had showed him that Foggy still felt the pain and betrayal of the first, monumental, lie and this one had reminded him of it.

Now Matt wasn't naive. He knew that it was going to take Foggy a while to get over the fact that he'd been lied to from the moment they'd met. And, logically, he could understand that every day was a work-in-progress as far as their newly-built relationship was concerned. But emotionally, Matt simply wanted things between him and Foggy to be like they once were. The trouble was that he didn't know how and the slight reminders of the wrongs he had committed against his friend were getting tiring.

Matt hadn't been able to keep the tears from choking his throat as he'd spoken his friend's name. He also hadn't been able to stop the pleading that had come out in the tone because he was begging his friend. He was begging Foggy to forgive him for this little lie as well as the other, larger one. The squeeze that Foggy had given his shoulder had helped to sooth his conscience but it hadn't dispelled the worry away entirely either. That, Matt was certain, was bound to stay for a long while.

"Meaning, what?" Karen asked. Her heart began to beat just a little faster and, judging by the brief shot of sweat he could smell, Matt guessed that she was nervous about what she might hear.

"Meaning that someone dressed as a nurse got into Mr. Helm's hospital room and offered Catherine a settlement. Which she took," Matt filled in. His hands tightened into fists again as he thought about the disrespect of a person doing that. That was a new low for anyone.

"Oh no," she said. Her voice made her sound dazed but Matt knew that it was actually just the way she sounded when she was trying to allow her mind to catch up with reality and then sort through things. It didn't take long before she came to the conclusion that had both Matt and Foggy truly upset. "Which means that Cameron won."

"And it gets better," Foggy said with fake cheer in his voice. "We think it was Marcie who did it."

"We don't think it was Marcie," Matt argued. He didn't want one of the only relationships Foggy had ever had since meeting Matt to be broken apart by circumspection rather than fact. It was too bad that he did believe it had been Marcie because then he might have actually been able to talk Foggy into believing it too.

"Oh come on Matt, you heard the way Mrs. Helm described the woman. All she would have had to add was the fact that the woman didn't have a soul and it would have described Marcie to a T!"

Matt reached out to touch Foggy's arm, to reassure him that things would be well but Foggy quickly moved out of the way. Evidently he didn't want to be placated right now and, honestly, Matt couldn't blame him. There had been a lot that had been heaped on Foggy today and he had just figured out that he needed to process it.

The conference room door opened and Matt automatically got up to chase, saying, "Foggy, Foggy," but stopped when his ankle refused to hold him and he sat rather ungracefully back in the chair. Still, he could tell by how strongly he heard the two heartbeats that Foggy hadn't left the room yet and so he spoke again. "Just, be careful out there."

"Yeah," Foggy answered, his breathing almost as fast as his heart. "You too. Stay in here if you need to."

Matt smiled but didn't say anything. He didn't want to keep his friend trapped in here when all he wanted to do was find out answers. It wouldn't be good for any of them. And so he listened to Foggy leave, hoping that he had at least taken his coat.

* * *

Foggy was having trouble thinking. His thoughts swirled around in his mind but they never stayed put long enough for him to grab hold of one. And so his mind raced as fast as his heart was pounding. He couldn't believe that Marcie would do such a thing. Could do it, yeah; she was a cold bitch when she wanted to be, but he had believed that they had formed something beyond being fuck buddies. But what if, to her, they hadn't? What if that had only been in his head.

His breath fogged up in front of him as he breathed out a sigh and pulled out his phone. Without bothering to let himself calm down he found her contact and pushed call. Her beautiful face popped up on the screen as the call went through and rang.

 _"Hello Foggy-bear,"_ she greeted sounding cherry as ever.

"Did you do it?" he asked , ignoring the annoying pet-name she used for him. "Did you dress up as a nurse and visit my client?" The answering sigh was all he needed to hear. He knew of her guilt, though she would never admit it in case of legal ramifications. He felt tears fill his eyes and not long after, one fell. "Was I ever more than a good time to you?" he asked, cursing himself as his voice broke a little. "Or was I simply a means to an end?"

 _"I think you know the answer to that, Foggy,"_ she answered without the slightest hint of contrition in her voice.

"Yeah," he said almost absently. Anger now replaced the hurt and he heard it solidify in his voice, hardening it, strengthening it. "I guess I do now."

He hung up before she could respond since he didn't really want to hear another thing that would come out of her mouth. Taking a moment to simply breathe and get his emotions under control, Foggy remained where he was. There were other things that he could technically stand around and think about but as he'd rather do that inside where it was warm, that's where he headed. Besides, he wanted to make sure that Matt hadn't been stupid and had tried to go back to his own office.

Matt. Now there was a man who seemed cloaked in lies. Seriously, one lie after another seemed to just roll off his tongue. It was getting to the point where he wasn't sure if he should believe anything his friend said. But then, in contrast to the major ones that he'd been keeping, this latest one hadn't been all that bad. And Foggy could at least understand why Matt had kept this one. After all, if the positions had been reversed, Foggy would have done the same.

Protecting each other was something that the two of them had gotten used to doing while in college. It hadn't really been necessary until Cameron had come along but there had been little threats to both of them that had watered this instinct until it had groaned. Of course the threats had nothing more than blustering but by the time that had been discovered, it had been two late. The two had formed a bond that would never allow one of them to get hurt if the other could prevent it.

And so, Foggy realized, he could forgive Matt for this latest lie. And quite possibly all the others. After all, the main reason for Matt not telling him right off (behind lack of trust in a complete stranger) was because he hadn't wanted anyone to get hurt because they knew about him. With Fisk running through the streets, Foggy had also understood where that logic had come from. If the puppeteer had had even the whiff of an idea that Foggy had known anything about the black mask there would have been a good chance that he would have been tortured for the information.

With that in mind, Foggy shivered and then went back inside. Maybe he could convince Karen and Matt that they should all just go home. Maybe even all go home together and just ride out the weekend winter weather together.

Foggy snorted. Yeah, he thought, and pigs will fly and hell will freeze over too while it's at it.

* * *

Matt was still in the conference room when Foggy came back inside but he had moved so that his back was to the wall and not the glass windows. Annoyingly, even that little movement had been hard and at some expense but at least he'd done it. Now he sat with his ankle elevated and an ice pack lying around it (per Karen's demands, by the way) while he attempted to organize the files into the file box. Though it was doubtful, they just might need to review the papers again and so it was best to keep them in order rather than a gigantic mess. The real problem came when the papers didn't have brail, then he didn't know where they belonged in the grand scheme of paper organization and so he usually ended up guessing and hoping he was right.

"You okay?" he asked as Foggy came into the room and plopped down onto a chair. All things considered, Foggy hadn't been gone nearly as long as Matt had believed he would have been which probably meant that his friend had only dealt with one thing - Marcie. And he now seemed dejected and tired, both of which Matt could relate to and sympathize with. He hesitated before asking, "Was it Marcie?"

"Yeah, it was Marcie," Foggy answered, sounding resigned.

"I'm sorry, man." There was really nothing more beyond that that Matt could say. He hadn't ever really thought that Marcie had been a good fit for his friend but he had held his tongue and had hoped for the best. And now Foggy was hurting and he felt bad for that but he was also glad because the ruthless attorney was no longer in his friend's life. "You need anything? A good drink maybe? Although I think we'll have to go somewhere else for that since we drank all of it when we put Fisk away."

That got him a little chuckle but he still sounded upset. The sound of a teardrop splashing onto the table reached his ears and Matt frowned at the sound of it. Foggy was crying. Maybe not all-out since that was the first and only tear he'd heard and he was sure to hear more if there had been more, but he was still crying. Matt wished he could get up and give his friend a hug but he couldn't. He wouldn't have been able to get over there without falling on his face and he'd always felt uncomfortable trying to comfort someone when they were sad. That was more Foggy's area than his.

The smell of lilacs permeated the air and he smiled as he realized that Karen had come in and that she had done what he hadn't been able to do. He looked over the rim of his glasses to see if she was looking at him and upon sensing that her head was faced in his direction, he mouthed 'Thank you'. He heard her nod and then bend her head so that her mouth was, no doubt, on the top of Foggy's head.

"I think we could all use a drink," he said, trying to sound more so cheerful than the atmosphere in the room felt.

"Where are we gonna get that?" Karen asked. "There's nothing here and I don't know about you guys but I don't keep good alcohol on hand."

"Matt does," Foggy answered, his voice a little cracked from silently crying. "He may only offer that crappy German beer but he has the good stuff. He just hides it."

Matt smirked. "If I kept it out, you guys would always come over to my place when you wanted a drink rather than going to Josie's."

"True," Foggy admitted. "To be fair, we should help Josie keep her bar open. I mean, it only makes sense after we worked so hard to keep it from closing."

Matt chuckled. "Well what do you think, Karen? You up to hanging out at my place for a while?"

The fact that she was surprised wasn't hard for Matt to figure out. But it became abundantly clear when Foggy said, "Dude, her mouth literally fell open. I can't remember the last time that happened."

"I think it was when I told her that I was the Daredevil but that could just be my faulty memory."

"No, I think there was a time after that but I can't remember it."

"Ha ha, you two are so not funny," she said, stopping them before they could debate it further. In spite of her words, however, she did have a smile in her voice and that made both Matt and Foggy smile. "And, hey, who am I to turn down good, free, alcohol?" She paused where, Matt assumed, she bit her lip and frowned in concern, and then she asked, "But, are you sure you're okay to be walking? I mean, you had a hard time getting around the table."

"We'll be taking a cab, Karen, I think I can handle that," Matt answered with a slight laugh and a smile.

As much as he wanted to tell them to stop fussing over him, Matt didn't dare. Although the feeling was unusual it wasn't necessarily unwelcome. As Karen had said, he'd been used to only having himself to care about him and while, yes, he'd had Foggy for a long time, he'd never fully allowed his friend to help him for fear of him finding out Matt's secret and/or getting hurt because of him. Now things were different. But old habits and all that and he was still working hard on breaking them.

"How's the wrapping on the ankle holding up?" Foggy asked and Matt was glad to note that his voice sounded stronger and happier. "Should we redo it?"

Matt frowned as he thought about it. He really didn't want more attention on the injury than what they already had paid but he also knew that if he had any hope of calming them down, it was to be honest with them as well as being able to make it out of the office and into his own apartment on his own two feet.

So without really knowing whether or not the bandaging needed redone he said, "Yeah, we might as well."

"That's as close to a 'yes, please' as we're gonna get," Foggy whispered conspiratorially out the side of his mouth. "I say we go with it and not ask any more questions."

"Good call," Matt heard Karen whisper back.

"You guys know that I can hear you right?"

"Oh we weren't trying to hide it," Karen called back as she left the room.

"She's going to go get our stuff together while I work on you," Foggy informed. Either he wanted to make sure that Matt knew he was moving or he was being unnecessarily loud but Matt heard the telltale signs of shoes against the carpet and cloth against cloth (like when someone is swinging their arms) as clearly as he could hear a voice. "So I see Karen got you to stay in here, huh?"

"It wasn't so much that she persuaded me as my body did," Matt admitted, though he hated doing it. He didn't like the fact that he wasn't able to do things like he normally could. Give him a torso injury over a leg (or arm, now that he thought about it) injury any day of the week. "It was uncomfortable to get over here, to say the least."

The sound of the ice pack being lifted told Matt that his friend had removed it but he hadn't been able to feel it. Thanks to the cold, his ankle was now numb, which he supposed was a good thing. His leg got lifted and then he heard Foggy sitting down before it was lowered and, assumingly, placed on Foggy's thigh like it had been earlier.

"Well, thanks to the ice, some of the swelling has gone down but the bruise is still pretty definitive," his friend told him as he, no doubt, worked. "This looks pretty painful, Matt, are you sure we shouldn't, I don't know, take you to the ER or something?"

"I appreciate your concern, Foggy, but I'll be fine," Matt said, not really wanting to go to the hospital for something like this. There were people who had real injuries to deal with. "I've had worse."

"That's true," Foggy agreed. There was a pause, his hands stilling as his mind thought of something, and then he continued to bundle up the injury. "Wait, so that time that you'd broken your ankle falling down stairs, did that really happen or was that Cameron?"

"It really happened, Foggy," Matt assured. The numbness was now starting to fade and he could now feel a faint throbbing coming from his ankle. It wasn't too painful yet but he didn't want to know how it would feel while he was walking on it.

"I'm guessing it really happened because Cameron had pushed you down the flight of stairs."

Matt wished he could read minds. He'd love to know what was going through Foggy's mind right at this moment. By the time he'd finished his statement, Foggy's heart beat a little faster. While the heartbeat was a good way to help anticipate attacks, it didn't necessarily help when it came to one's friends. Was Foggy angry? And if he was, was it with Marcie, Cameron, or Matt, himself?

"That's what I thought," Foggy continued after, apparently, watching Matt for an expression. The cold was replaced and Matt jumped when he felt it. The sensation felt good but the pressure with which it had been applied had hurt and he let out a small, brief, cry. "Sorry."

"It's fine."

"No, it's really not, Matt," Foggy argued, sounding a little angry. "You shouldn't have had to endure all that."

That was true, at least. But that didn't mean that Foggy needed to feel guilty for it, either.

"Yeah, well, I survived, didn't I?" Matt hoped that his smirky smile would help to calm his friend. What had happened, had happened, and there was no point in continuing to hash it out. When Foggy remained silent, Matt leaned forward to grab Foggy's hands and enclosed them within his own. "It's fine," he said, reiterating his message with enough punctuation on the word to let his friend know that all was well. "And besides, it wasn't like it was for that long."

"Yeah," Foggy agreed not sounding in the least like he agreed. "At least there's that. But, can you do me a favor? And I realize this is asking a lot of you but, no more lies."

Matt smirked. The request was so small but Foggy had a valid point in his sarcasm. That was a lot to ask of him because Matt used his lies like a shield. They protected him and those around him. He wasn't sure that he could do it - not lie. Again, old habits.

"I'll try," he agreed. "Foggy, that's all I can promise."

Foggy sighed. "I suppose that's all I can ask for then."

A swish of skin on cloth confirmed that Foggy was shaking his head in disappointment but just as Matt was about to elaborate, the door opened and in walked Karen. "Hey," she said, "you guys almost ready?"

"Almost," Foggy answered on a sigh. "Just need to get his sock and shoe back on."

"Are you sure that's wise? I mean, he could barely do that earlier and I can't imagine it'll be any easier this time around."

"Well unless you think it's better for me to walk around parts of New York City without a shoe, it's pretty much our only option," Matt interjected. Since he was getting a little tired of them talking about him like he wasn't there, the words had come out a bit sharper than he'd meant them to and he winced. "Sorry," he apologized.

"It's okay," Karen forgave. "But you have a good point. You can't go walking around New York with only one shoe on."

"Okay, so shoe it is," Foggy said. He leaned to his left where Matt assumed that his abandoned shoe and sock lay and then he righted himself. "K, this may hurt."

Matt hissed as the shoe was forced on but that was all he would allow himself to do. After all, this wasn't the worst injury he'd had in his life. Painful, yes, but he'd experienced far more painful in the past. Foggy's heart rate increased, expressing his friend's apology far clearer than any words could have and Matt tried to smile at his friend to assure him that he understood. Whether or not it worked, he didn't know, but he guessed it did since Foggy's heartbeat slowed down to a relatively normal rhythm.

"So," Karen said, evidently uncomfortable with the silence. But apparently she had nothing to follow that up with and so the quiet descended once again.

Well, it was quiet for them. Matt, on the other hand could hear their heartbeats, the cars outside, the phone ringing in the apartment two blocks down, as well as the snow ghosting on the ground just outside the building. The world was a noisy place. It's funny how he didn't know it until he became blind.

"And that'll do it," Foggy said, breaking through their quiet with something akin to triumph in his voice. "And now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to grab my coat, and yours, Matt, so we can get the hell out of here."

"Sounds like a plan." Matt smiled at his friend as he left. He placed his hands on the arms of the chair and began to push himself out of it. Since his left leg was uninjured, and therefore the strongest, Matt made sure to balance as much of his weight as he could on that leg. His right hand stretched out and touched the table. He wanted to make sure that he had a good makeshift cane should he need it as he made his way out of the conference room. Not only that but it helped him judge the distance between the wall and the table as well as anticipate where a random chair might me.

Muffled heels on the carpet told him that Karen had moved towards him, presumably to help. As much as he wanted to, Matt didn't wave her off. He heard her reach out and then felt her gently touch his free arm, noticing how she deftly avoided the areas that were most sore and smiling at it.

"I'm not sure how much it'll help but I'm here if you need it," she offered, however shyly.

Matt smiled at her, saying, "Thank you," but silently wondering how much good she could actually do. Still, he appreciated the offer. "But I think I'll be alright."

Seeing no point in delaying, and actually finding that he wanted to get home, Matt began walking. The first step had his ankle wobbling under him and it definitely didn't get better the more steps he took but at least it held his weight. The pain of it, however, had him grimacing and once or twice he had to swallow a groan. He had just gotten to the reception area when Foggy joined them, helping Matt into his coat, and then replacing Karen by taking Matt's arm and slinging it over his shoulder, he allowed Matt to lean some of his weight onto him.

"Come on buddy," Foggy said as they slowly made their way to the door. "Let's get us all to your place and drink. Cause, I don't know about you, but I could certainly use one."

"Sounds like a plan," Matt said, his face pulling into another grimace as they made their way out the door. "Hey Foggy?"

"Yeah?" Foggy's voice was quiet, suggesting that Matt could lower his to a whisper too which was fine with him since he didn't believe that Karen really needed to know what they were talking about at the moment anyways.

"I'm sorry that I can't be the type of friend that you want."

Because that was what it came down to, in Matt's opinion. Foggy wanted someone who could be as open and honest as Foggy himself could be as well as someone with the same moral principles. And for the most part, that just wasn't Matt. Oh they both agreed on some morals but where as one was willing to let the law take things at a certain point, the other was not. To a degree, Matt supposed, he did believe himself above the law but he rationalized it by believing that it was because he picked up where the law left off. And Foggy just didn't agree with that.

There was a shudder out of his friend, as though Matt's words had brought on some sort of emotion which Matt hadn't a clue what it was. Foggy's hand tightened around Matt's waist, essentially giving him a hug.

"You're the best friend a guy could ask for," Foggy assured. "Whether or not you're protecting the city."

Matt smiled and laughed a little at that. "I'm not just protecting the city," he said, thinking of the two that were by his side.

"I know buddy. I know." There was a pause in which Foggy inhaled deeply and his grip tightened on Matt to keep him from falling. Matt could feel ice coldness in front of him and he guessed that they were about to go outside. "Now, come on, let's get you home and drink ourselves silly. Maybe we can teach Karen about being avocados at law."

"Just be careful out there you two," Karen said from far behind them. Evidently she was still at the office still getting things together (if the sounds coming from the office were anything to go by). "The sidewalks are apparently really icy."

Matt's laughter followed Foggy and himself out of the building and into the cab. There weren't a lot of way in which he could be considered ordinary but at this moment, right now, he was the most normal guy in the world.

After all, even a blind ninja can have people that love and take care of him.

 _Fin_


End file.
